The stakes could not have been higher when two men met on March 13, 1868, to determine the fate of Edo and its 1.5 million inhabitants.
One was Saigo Takamori, counselor to the Imperial forces. His homeland of Satsuma, Chosu and other anti-Tokugawa regions were set to launch an all-out attack on the capital in two days. Their objective: to end 260 years of shogunate rule.
Facing him was Katsu Kaishu, head of the shogunate army, who was desperate to spare the city and spare his master, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, as the Imperial forces made unhindered advances along the Tokaido Highway.